Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Finds Herself Part Of 2 Movies At TIFF
For some reason, Diablo Cody seems to have the knives pointed at her more easily (and unfairly) than other screenwriters. Say what you will about the Oscar-winning pen behind “Juno,” but her voice is unique and frankly we’d take a Cody project over something from overrated, middle-of-the-road scribes like Allan Loeb or Aline Brosh McKenna any day of the week. But it certainly reveals something about Cody’s presence in Hollywood that she has found herself part of two movies that recently played TIFF and in one case she’s not happy, while in the other it seems she’s apparently less concerned.
While we missed it in Toronto, “God Bless America,” the latest directorial effort from comic actor Bobcat Goldthwait, is apparently a ninety-minute diatribe against everything he hates in popular culture. The film follows a directionless individual who decides to go on a killing spree with his 16-year old accomplice when he finds out he may be terminally ill. Along the way the film apparently takes on everything including “Star Trek,” Jeff Foxworthy, Glenn Beck, “American Idol,” Fox News, “Jersey Shore,” energy drinks, “Jackass,” “American Idol” and oh yeah, Diablo Cody. It’s all part and parcel of what is apparently a big anti-Hollywood satire sort of movie (comparisons to Mike Judge‘s “Idiocracy” are mentioned in more than one review) but Cody is a little disappointed Bobcat included her as part of his takedown. Here’s what she had to say on her blog Honest To Blr:
In the meantime, I’ve been sad because I heard Bobcat Goldthwait (who is actually a really talented writer/director) brought a movie to Toronto that rips on everything stupid about American pop culture; namely, reality TV, Idol, Kardashians and…me? I don’t even consider myself a part of “pop culture” these days. I’m a screenwriter with a hit-or-miss career. I don’t really go out to events. I don’t have a million Twitter followers or a massive fandom (In fact, I seem to have a much larger and more vocal “un-fandom,” if you know what I’m saying.) I would think that to pollute pop culture to such a degree that it warrants being eviscerated in a movie, one would need to be, you know, powerful. Visible. Ubiquitous. I’m none of those things and I haven’t been in a while. Maybe this movie has been on the shelf? Hope so, but I doubt it.
I ordinarily shake these things off, but it sucks extra hard when the criticism comes from someone you admire. Shakes the Clown is an excellent movie. Plus, I always assumed Goldthwait and I were kindred spirits— we both have silly aggro fake names, and we’ve both spent our careers (his long, mine short) trying to transcend the gimmicks we’re known for. Dear Bobcat: Juno is my “growly voice.” Let me evolve, as you have evolved.
We have to say, we sort of agree that targeting Cody of all people/trends/things in Hollywood seems to be pretty low hanging fruit. But also, she has an Oscar, a solid career and the upcoming “Young Adult” to take over the (very small) buzz from Goldthwait’s film which is getting a very limited theatrical and VOD release next year. So yeah, Cody has likely given “God Bless America” more high-profile ink that it might otherwise have gotten.
Moving on, Cody has inspired another movie, this time in form of Jim Field Smith‘s “Butter.” The quirky indie flick/political satire follows Laura (Jennifer Garner), the wife of former butter sculpting champion Bob (Ty Burrell), who tries to take the mantle from her husband only to be thwarted by a young adopted African American girl (Yara Shahidi), who has discovered that she has a natural talent for making art out of butter. However, one character that has some people talking is Olivia Wilde‘s turn as a bisexual stripper named Brooke, who sets out to extort, humiliate and destroy Garner and Burrell’s marriage, even seducing their daughter, played by Ashley Greene. Yowza. And according to 24 Frames the parallels between Brooke and Diablo Cody are very apparent.
Like Brooke, Cody was once a stripper and is covered in upper-body tattoos. Like Brooke, Oscar winner Cody has a certain swagger and also sought to reinvent herself in another discipline that doesn’t involve pole dancing, in the hope of landing a big prize.
Oh, and Cody’s real first-name? Brooke.
But according to Jason Micaleff who wrote the screenplay, Cody is aware of the character. “Slightly inspired by Diablo (who is thrilled and excited to see it, I hear),” he told 24 Frames. So will Cody be happy with the version of herself played by Olivia Wilde? Well, who wouldn’t be?
